Super high combined chlorine

[aylad]

If you get an occasional bird dropping in the water, it's not going to cause the kind of CC's that you are experiencing--I have swallows that drink out of my pool and regurg stuff on a regular basis, and my CC never goes above 0.5.

Other than keeping the pool at shock level to burn off the CC, I don't really know what to tell you to do other than try to identify where they're coming from. Is it possible that the pool surface is degrading and causing it? Are you positive that your testing methods are correct and that you're using fresh reagents? I know those questions are redundant, but I'm just muddling over your situation trying to figure out what other approach we can take. I understand your frustration and would feel the same way--but don't give up on it yet...

Janet

[Watermom]

Your thread in particular was one we discussed with Ben. He says if you are losing chlorine over night, then you just have to keep hammering it with bleach. I know it seems like it will never end, but one morning you're gonna get up and find that you haven't lost chlorine overnight! There is nothing else to do but keep at it. Every day consistently and you will win. (Please know that we understand your frustration. We are frustrated, too, because there is nothing new to tell you that we haven't already said. Now it is just time to stay the course and don't give up. I'm sure that doesn't help much, but there is no other easy cure. Wish there was ...

[AnnaK]

The major issue is to keep the chlorine up very high all the time. You've mentioned letting it drop down to 10 ppm occasionally. That doesn't help the situation. You've also allowed the CYA to creep up from 30 to 50 by using stabilized chlorine products, which means you'll need more chlorine. This is a project and a process. It's not the time to run short of or out of chlorine.

One approach other than chlorine to kill the bacteria might be UV irradiation with a UV bulb. You could place it in the skimmer so it hits all the water being sucked through the intake. Where to get such a bulb and how much they cost I don't know. UV irradiation is used in some homes to sanitize well water, it's not just a scifi concept.

100 gallons of bleach put into a pool without any obvious progress would frustrate the heck out of anybody and I do sympathize with you. We all do. At this point you need to exercise some extreme discipline. No swimming, no slacking off, no substitutions. High concentrations of bleach 24/7. You almost had it beat once. You can get there again.

[themaccs]

Thanks for all the encouragement. Not sure how exactly to do what you are saying i need to do. I don't think my employer would understand if I had to take a few days off so i could keep chlorine in my pool. Today is a good example, FC was 18 when I left the house this morning, I had a long busy day at work, FC is now 7. What to do?

[Watermom]

Obviously, you can't babysit your pool 24/7. But, just test and hit it with bleach as often as you can. Before work, as soon as you come in from work, a couple hours after that, before bed. Whenever you can. The more often the better. Good luck and please keep us informed how it is going.

[themaccs]

I Is it possible that the pool surface is degrading and causing it? Are you positive that your testing methods are correct and that you're using fresh reagents?

Janet

Just received fresh reagents in the mail yesterday, and the ones I have run all the way through trying to keep up with this were new 2 weeks ago. Pretty sure my method is correct. How would I know if my pool surface (vinyl liner) is degrading? There are no areas of discoloration or other indication of damage. Guess I'll try to keep up the bleach. How safe is it to take it up close to 30 in the morning so it doesn't get as low during the day when I can't be here?

[Watermom]

Geez. I don't know. As fast as your cl level is dropping, it probably wouldn't stay at 30 for long but I can't tell you that it won't fade you liner. What is the highest you have shocked it to thus far?

[themaccs]

Geez. I don't know. As fast as your cl level is dropping, it probably wouldn't stay at 30 for long but I can't tell you that it won't fade you liner. What is the highest you have shocked it to thus far?

About 22, didn't stay there long though.

[aylad]

If there's no fading of your liner, and no strange "feel" to it, then liner degrading isn't the problem. At the time I wrote the post for some reason I was thinking you had a gunite pool....just kind of "thinking out loud".

With a CYA of 50, I'd hold off on shocking to 30--try going to 20 instead. There was one time in the past that I actually shocked mine to almost 40 and held it there for about 3 weeks with no apparent liner damage, but that was a very extreme case and I wouldn't recommend it, just to be on the safe side.

Janet

[themaccs]

So - is there another test I should be getting done on my water, or should I be throwing in the towel and doing a drain and refill? I have really thought for the last several days that we were almost there: I have been dosing the FC up to 20 ppm or slightly above before leaving for work in the morning, checking it as soon as I get home and trying to keep it above 16 all evening, then up closer to 20 before bedtime. FC was down to 10.5 when I got home after an extra long work day yesterday, and down to 11 when I got home today. Basically, FC has been dropping 1-2ppm/hour during the day and 4.5-5ppm overnight. CC was holding pretty steady at around 0.5 or slightly above. Then my readings when I got home from work today are as follows:
FC - 11 (down from 21 in about 6 1/2 hours - a short day at work)
CC - 1.5
pH - 7.6

TA is holding at about 160
CYA is staying at about 45.

Now have added close to 120 total gallons of bleach.

I really thought we were getting somewhere this morning when the CC barely showed up, but then that was followed by the worst readings I have had in several days this evening. We did have a fair amount of rain overnight last night, but not since this morning's testing and dosing.

So - is there another test to figure out what I am dealing with, or is it time to just drain and refill, or should I keep hammering the bleach?

Thanks for any insight you can give me!